Why a new social allowance?
Due to cost-cutting measures by the Flemish Government, new, stricter regulations on the scholarship from the Flemish Government will come into effect from the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. To ensure that, even under these circumstances, we can provide the best possible support to every student in need, we have reviewed our current financial support policy and decided to merge the current social allowance, rent allowance and exchange grant into a single new social allowance.
Social allowance
VUB students who are struggling to pay for their studies can request a social allowance to help keep studying affordable. The allowance is awarded to help keep the cost of your studies affordable, and you do not have to repay it. The social grant amounts to a maximum of €2,500 and can be reapplied for each academic year. The grant is calculated based on the number of credits you are taking, your study costs and the scholarship from the Flemish Government you receive. We limit the financial support to two-thirds of the calculated study costs.
Study costs taken into account in the calculation:
- Student housing
- Tuition fees
- Transport costs
- Compulsory study materials (courses, textbooks, lab materials, excursions, etc.)
- Laptop & internet
- International exchange costs
Calculate your social allowance
Would you like to estimate the amount of the social allowance in your case? Use the template below to get a better idea.
Please note: calculations based on the template are not binding. The final social allowance is determined on the basis of your file and the applicable conditions.
Conditions
Do I qualify for support?
There are certain conditions to qualify for the financial support provided by VUB. There are general conditions and specific conditions for each individual type of support.
Conditions
Specific conditions
- Students who meet the nationality requirements for student finance;
- Students enrolling on the following programmes for at least 27 ECTS credits (excluding the final year):
- Bachelor’s
- Master’s
- Preparatory programme
- Bridging programme
- Students who meet the study progress requirements in accordance with the current VUB policy on academic progress.
In academic year 2026-2027, this means: students in their third year of higher education must achieve a cumulative study progress rate of at least 60%. - Students who have previously studied at other higher education institutions are eligible for financial support provided they have not changed degree programmes more than once.
Conditions
Don't agree?
We evaluate your request and make a decision based on these conditions. If you do not agree with a decision made by our Financial Support team regarding your request for financial support, you can lodge an appeal.
Appeals procedure student services
Submit application
The procedure for applying for the new social allowance is not yet known. As soon as this information becomes available, you will be able to find it on this page.
However, the deadline for applying for the social allowance is already known. For the 2026–2027 academic year, the deadline is 1 September 2027.